While Hopkins remained relatively unscathed from post-tropical cyclone Sandy, several residence halls, Charles Commons in particular, suffered from leaking problems as a result of the storm. Hopkins’s employees were able to deal with the minor damages relatively quickly, however.
“When there is a storm as powerful as Hurricane Sandy, there will be leaks from the high winds, gusts and horizontal rain,” Tracey Angel, Director of Housing and Conference Services, wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Sophomore Erik Jorgensen, a Charles Commons resident, experienced leaking in his dorm room. Jorgensen used trash cans to quell the leaking and to prevent it from damaging the room. He noted that Hopkins security was quick to respond.
“We called the security and they had people come up and put bags on the windows and collect all the water in trash cans,” Jorgensen said. “They came back several times because they needed to clean up water on the floors and stuff.”
Freshman Taylor Alessio also thought that staff members were very helpful in dealing with the flooding in the AMRs.
“You just have to contact maintenance, and they’ve been very helpful and responded quickly,” Alessio wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
The University prepared for the storm by checking emergency generators, clearing drains and sandbagging certain areas that were vulnerable to the storm.
“Preparation for such an event goes on for days prior to the event occurring,” Angel wrote.
Additionally, the Housing Staff remained on campus throughout Monday night to respond to calls from Security pertaining to hurricane-related issues. Since the storm has passed, the Housing Staff and Security have worked to ensure that buildings are repaired and that areas where leaking occurred are drying.
“For any issues that involved a scope beyond what could be done internally, expertise from off -campus is being called in to assist,” Angel wrote.
In addition to repairing damages, the University hopes to learn how to better protect facilities from future storms.
“There is also work
See LEAKS, page A6
LEAKS, from A1
that goes on after these events to follow up on new information regarding how the buildings withstand the elements, but there comes a point where no matter what you do to prevent damage, powerful winds and pounding rains will have an effect,” Angel wrote.
The University is not liable for any damages incurred on students’ property in residence halls.
“Students are encouraged each summer to check their parent’s homeowners policy to make sure that they are covered for damages that occur in their residence hall room or apartment,” Angel wrote. “If they were not covered, they were encouraged to get a renters policy or have their room covered by a rider on their parents policy.”
Students residing off campus also experienced leaking problems. Senior Kevin Wu spent the bulk of the storm staying with a friend at the Blackstone Apartments. Wu described the extensive leaks that occurred as a result of the storm.
“We tried to catch the dripping water with pans and stuff, and sometime in the night, the maintenance person came in with one of the huge trash cans and put it in the middle of the living room,” Wu said. “It eventually filled up, halfway or so.”
